Sewing

I am slowly, but surely, improving my sewing skills. Which is hilarious because a year ago I could barely set up my sewing machine, much less imagine making a shirt I’m proud to wear. But here we are! This week I made the Breezy Tee.

This weekend I made my second Breezy Tee from It’s Always Autumn. Her patterns are crazy easy to use, which I love. Sometimes it’s nice to sew something that doesn’t require much brain power.

Fabric

I am madly in love with the single and double brushed poly from Sly Fox Fabrics. I used these colors/designs:

I am not the most crafty person. I want to be. I have memories of home ec class in high class, and how it was the worst experience of my life. Maybe I’m being dramatic, but the sewing, the patience, the good-natured people: it was all too much. That’s why it’s pretty surprising that I not only have a sewing machine, but successfully made something – a DIY Heating Pad!

I wouldn’t have even considered taking up, or trying to take up sewing, if it hadn’t been for my mother-in-law. She sparked my interest in learning how to sew. Then, my sister-in-law (see a pattern here??) showed me the clothes she makes and how (relatively) easy to is to make beginner items and I thought to myself, “let’s give it a try.”

Which is why I started with what I would describe as the easiest sewing project ever – the DIY Heating Pad. Why is it the easiest? Because your basically sewing a rectangle. It’s pretty tough to mess up!

DIY Heating Pad

Items Needed:

Sewing machine (obvs, though you could hand stitch, I suppose, but that sounds like torture)

Steps:

The steps are wicked easy, but I’ll outline the process I followed to the best of my ability.

Buy fabric
I went to Joann Fabric and had a field day looking at all the different fabric. That store is like Target for crafty stuff. I could have bought way more, but limited myself to just a few pieces of fabric to get started with, as to not terrify my husband. I bought 1 yard of this pretty purple and pink fabric.

Decide on size of your DIY Heating Pad
I knew I wanted a long rectangular heating pad, so I cut my fabric approximately 14 inches x 20 inches.
What I liked about this is I really couldn’t mess this up, again because it’s a rectangle, so don’t fret too much if it isn’t perfect.

Pin
Fold you fabric “pretty side to pretty side” (lingo I’ve picked up from other blogs) aka so the underside/ugly side is on the outside. You are going to pin 2 sides, leaving the last open to insert rice. See picture below.4. Sew
It look me awhile to get my sewing machine set up and I’m not an expert at trouble shooting this. Luckily, there were no tears. But once you figure this out #criticalthinkingskills, sew the 2 sides that you have pinned. This should leave you with a rectangle that is sewn on 2 sides, with 1 side open to put the rice in.
5. Get the rice!!!!
First, turn your heating pad inside out so the pretty side is on the outside. Then it’s time to put in the rice. I ended up using about 2.5 cups of rice, but again, do what feels best for you and your heating pad needs. I use my heating pad on my face when I have migraines, so I wanted enough rice to be able to spread out in my heating pad, all over my face. Make this work for you!6. Finish sewing this bad boy.
This is where things got…tricky. Mostly, because I am not the most skilled hand sewer. But hey, I’m learning!!!! Finish sewing the last open side of your heating pad. You skilled sewers can probably accomplish some of this with your sewing machine, and hand sew the end. As you can see in my pic below, the last few inches of mine got a little messy. It happens #noshame

And here’s the finished product!!! I have to say, I’m pretty proud of myself for starting and finishing my first product. I almost gave up when I couldn’t immediately figure out how to use my sewing machine, but am glad I didn’t. I have a lot of skills to learn and a long way to go, but I really enjoyed making something for myself, that I can use. Yay!

So that’s that! Hope this is helpful. If not, Pinterest has tons of pins on how to make this, so I’m sure one way or another, you’ll find a way to make a DIY Heating Pad!

Are you crafty? Do you sew? What types of projects do you like to make? Tell me in the comments below!